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The bottom line: To sell a junk car in Colorado, you get quotes online, accept one, and sign the title over at pickup. Most sales finish in one to three days. The tow is free, and you don’t have to move the car anywhere.
Three national buyers cover most of the state: Peddle, Wheelzy, and CashForCars. Most junk cars bring $150 to $600. Trucks and SUVs often go higher.
On pickup day you need the title signed in your name and a photo ID. The loan has to be paid off first. You don’t need the car to run, and you don’t need to book a mechanic.
If the title is lost, order a replacement before you take an offer. It costs $8.20 and takes 2 to 6 weeks. That wait is the one part of this you can’t rush, so start it early.
You can compare offers from multiple buyers in about two minutes.
Automated assistant — general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
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How to Sell a Junk Car in Colorado, Step by Step
Six steps, start to finish. Most of it happens from your phone.
Step 1: Get quotes from several buyers
Every quote form asks the same handful of things. Year, make, model, your ZIP code, and whether the car starts and drives. Then it asks what’s wrong with it and whether the title is in your name.
Some forms want the VIN. It’s on a small plate at the base of the windshield on the driver’s side, and it’s printed on your registration card and insurance paperwork.
A number comes back in under two minutes. That number is a real offer, not an estimate, and it usually holds for about seven days. It can change if the car turns out to be in worse shape than you described, so be honest about missing parts.
Get three quotes before you accept one. The gap between the highest and lowest offer on the same car is often $100 or more, and it takes a few minutes to compare offers from multiple buyers.
Top junk car buyers in Colorado. All three reach the Front Range corridor from Fort Collins down to Pueblo, plus Grand Junction and the larger Western Slope towns.
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
Step 2: Check your paperwork
An expired registration doesn’t stop you from selling a junk car. Nobody’s driving it, and the buyer isn’t putting it back on the road. What matters is the title.
Here’s what Colorado asks for:
- Title required to sell: yes
- Odometer disclosure: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles over 16,000 lbs GVWR exempt
- Bill of sale: required when the title has no space for the sale price
Write one either way. It’s your proof of the date the car stopped being yours, and it takes two minutes with our free bill of sale tool. Keep a copy for yourself.
If the title is missing, damaged, or in someone else’s name, don’t accept an offer yet. Sort the document first, then get quotes.
Every form you might need
Most junk sales need no forms at all. These come up when something is missing or the car isn’t straightforwardly yours.
Replacement title
Form: Form DR 2539A
For a title that’s lost, stolen, or too damaged to sign. How to apply.
Odometer disclosure
Newer cars need the mileage recorded. When it applies.
Bill of sale
Form: Generic (no state form)
Records the price, the date, and both names. Build one free.
Selling without a title
Read this before you accept an offer. What your options actually are.
Inherited vehicle
For a car left behind by someone who died. What you’ll need.
Gift transfer
For a car handed over with no money changing hands. How it works.
Emissions testing when you sell
- Where: Air Care Colorado emissions stations in the Denver metro and North Front Range program area
- Cost: $25 for 1982 and newer vehicles, $15 for 1981 and older
- How long it stays valid: 2 years for gas vehicles more than seven model years old
- Who handles it: yes, in most cases within the program area
A scrap buyer isn’t putting the car back on the road, so a certificate rarely comes up. Ask the buyer when you accept the offer, and don’t pay for a test on a car that won’t start.
Step 3: Accept an offer and book the pickup
You accept online. Within a few hours a local tow company calls you to set a time.
Most pickups land one to three business days out. You’ll get a window rather than an exact time, usually a few hours wide.
Whoever signs the title has to be there. Mountain towns and anywhere past a rough access road can add a day, so mention the location on the call.
Step 4: Get the car ready for the tow truck
Lost keys aren’t a problem. A flatbed winches the car on, so the driver doesn’t need to start it or steer it.
What the driver does need is room. A flatbed is about 30 feet long and needs a clear straight pull. Move other cars, trash bins, and anything parked in the way the night before.
Empty the car properly. Check the glovebox, the center console, under the seats, the trunk, and the spare tire well. Garage door openers and toll transponders get left behind constantly.
Take your plates off before the truck arrives. Plates stay with the seller.
Step 5: Sign the title and take payment
Notarization is not required.
You sign the assignment section on the back of the title and hand it to the driver. That’s the transfer done, right there in your driveway.
A crossed-out or corrected signature can void the title, and then you’re ordering a replacement. Our full Colorado selling guide walks through the title section by section, including joint ownership.
You don’t go anywhere for a junk sale. If you ever do need an in-person transfer, that happens at your county motor vehicle office.
Payment is usually cash or check. It depends on the tow company. Ask which one when they call to schedule, so there’s no surprise at the curb.
Take a photo of the signed title before you hand it over, and get the driver’s name and company. Count the cash before the car goes on the truck.
Step 6: Close it out
You’ve got the plates in your hand. You can transfer your plates to another vehicle you own, return them to your county motor vehicle office, or destroy them.
Plate transfer fee: varies by county; contact your county motor vehicle office
Then report the sale so the state knows the car isn’t yours anymore.
File online through myDMV under Vehicle Services, Report Release of Liability.
Deadline to report the sale: 5 days
Cancel the insurance last, after the car is gone and not before. If you cancel while it’s still in the driveway and something happens to it overnight, you’re covering that yourself.
Your Colorado Junk Car Checklist
Before the Sale
At Pickup
After the Sale
What Your Junk Car Is Worth in Colorado
Most junk cars bring $150 to $600. Trucks, SUVs, and anything with a working catalytic converter still on it can clear $1,000.
Two things set the number. Scrap metal value gives every car a floor based on weight, and parts value adds on top when the model is common enough that a yard can resell what’s left.
In our own quote tests, a 2003 Honda Accord with 199,827 miles and a salvage title drew offers between $350 and $415. A 2011 Audi Q5 with 193,068 miles drew $465 to $600. Same condition, very different money, which is why one quote isn’t enough.
The catalytic converter matters more than anything else. If it’s been cut off, expect the offer to drop by a few hundred dollars. Say so on the quote form rather than at pickup.
Heavier cars scrap for more. A full size truck has hundreds of pounds of steel over a compact sedan, and that shows up in the floor price.
Common models beat rare ones. A yard can sell an alternator off a Civic in a week. Parts for something unusual sit on a shelf, so the offer leans on scrap weight instead.
A complete car is worth more than a stripped one. Missing wheels, doors, seats, or a battery all pull the number down. So does a car that’s been sitting open to weather.
A salvage title lowers the offer but doesn’t kill it. Junk buyers deal with branded titles daily. Our tests show salvage cars still drawing offers in the $350 to $600 range.
Where you live changes the tow math. Front Range pickups are routine. A car three hours up a canyon costs more to reach, and that can shave the offer or stretch the timeline.
For a fuller breakdown, see who gives the most cash for junk cars.
Companies That Buy Junk Cars in Colorado
All three of these buy cars that don’t run. None of them asks you to start it, drive it, or bring it anywhere.
Peddle
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
Peddle picks up across Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, and Pueblo, and reaches Grand Junction on the Western Slope.
The quote form is short and gives a number without asking for a phone call first. Offers hold for seven days, which is enough breathing room to line up a replacement title if you need one.
Wheelzy
Wheelzy is best for older, junk or damaged cars
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
Wheelzy works through local partner yards in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Thornton, Westminster, and Greeley.
You can get the quote online or over the phone, and the phone route tends to be quicker if your car has an unusual problem to explain. Pickup is often same day or next day in the metro areas.
CashForCars
CashForCars runs on Copart's nationwide auction yards
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
CashForCars runs its own yards and auction sites, and covers Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Loveland, and Longmont.
Because they own the yards, the offer and the tow come from the same company rather than a middleman. In our tests they came back highest on several damaged and salvage title cars.
If your car is old, high mileage, and basically scrap, Peddle is the fastest form to fill in. If you’d rather explain the car to a person, Wheelzy handles that well. If the car is wrecked or carries a salvage title, CashForCars came back strongest in our tests.
Get all three quotes anyway. It costs you a few minutes and the spread on the same car is regularly $100 or more.
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Selling a Junk Car Without a Title in Colorado
People point to two statutes here. Read them closely and both are about what the buyer does after the sale, not about letting you hand the car over without a title.
The legal authority: Colorado Revised Statutes 42-6-110 (24-month rule for non-roadworthy vehicles) and 42-6-115 (in lieu of bond for vehicles 25 years or older)
What you file as the seller: none; the buyer files for a bonded title, or for a vehicle 25 years or older follows the In Lieu of Bond checklist DR 2462
So the realistic path is a replacement title. It’s cheap, and every buyer on this page will hold your offer while you wait for it.
Some buyers will also take the car as parts only on a bill of sale, which is where most junk cars end up anyway. Not all of them will, so ask before you accept an offer, and read our guide on how to scrap a car without a title.
Learn more: How to Sell a Car Without a Title
Getting a Replacement Title in Colorado
The fee is $8.20. The wait is 2 to 6 weeks.
That gap between the price and the wait is the whole story in Colorado. Almost nobody skips a replacement title over the fee, but a month of waiting genuinely does change plans.
- Form: Form DR 2539A
- Available online: yes
- Online portal: myDMV
- Where to apply: your county motor vehicle office, or online through myDMV
Apply for it and get quotes at the same time. Most offers hold about a week, so you may need to re-quote once the title lands, but knowing the number early tells you whether the wait is worth it.
Here’s a rough threshold. If the car is drawing offers over about $300, wait for the title. Below that, ask buyers about a parts-only sale instead, because six weeks of the car sitting there isn’t worth $200.
If a lender still holds the title
The lien comes off before anything else happens. Call the lender, get the payoff amount, and settle it.
Once the loan is clear, the lender releases the title to you. Ask how long that takes when you call, because it’s often a couple of weeks and it stacks on top of any other wait.
On a junk car the payoff is usually more than the car is worth, so you’re covering the difference yourself. Our guide on selling a financed car covers the ways people handle that.
If your title is electronic
This trips people up. Seeing the title on your phone feels like having it, but the tow driver needs the paper document with your signature on it.
If you can’t find the paper copy, you’re ordering a replacement. Start that before you accept an offer.
If the car is titled in another state
You can sell it from Colorado without retitling it here. A junk buyer takes an out-of-state title as long as your name is on it and there’s no lien.
Mention it on the quote form so the buyer knows before the driver shows up. If that title is the one that’s lost, you’ll have to order the replacement from the state that issued it.
Selling a Junk Car That Isn’t in Your Name
Buyers won’t take a car from someone who isn’t on the title. There’s a route for each of the common situations, and all of them run through your county motor vehicle office.
The car belonged to someone who died. Which paperwork you need depends on whether the estate went through probate.
Estate value limit: $88,000 for deaths in 2026, $86,000 for 2025, or $82,000 for 2024, adjusted each year for inflation under C.R.S. 15-12-1201, with at least 10 days elapsed since the death
Someone gave you the car. There’s a set process for a gift transfer.
Gift transfer: Record the transfer as a gift with no consideration. The obligation sits with the giver, who must already have paid sales or use tax
Someone left it on your property. That’s a different process with its own notice requirements, and you can’t simply sell it. Start with our guide on selling an abandoned vehicle.
What Counts as a Junk Car, and What It Costs to Sell One
There’s no test you have to pass to call your car junk. In practice it means the repair costs more than the car is worth, and buyers price it on weight and parts rather than on condition.
Colorado does have branded titles for badly damaged cars, but they come up when a car is being repaired and put back on the road. If you’re scrapping it, they don’t enter into your sale.
What does matter is the small stack of numbers and deadlines below.
| What | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Replacement title fee | $8.20 |
| Replacement title wait | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Emissions test cost | $25 for 1982 and newer vehicles, $15 for 1981 and older |
| Safety inspection cost | not applicable |
| Plate transfer fee | varies by county; contact your county motor vehicle office |
| Deadline to report the sale | 5 days |
| Buyer deadline to retitle | 60 days from the date of sale |
| Buyer penalty if they miss it | $25 per month starting on day 61, up to a $100 maximum |
Local Yards vs Online Buyers
A local yard pays by the ton and often wants you to bring the car in. That works if you have a trailer and the car is truly scrap, and it can beat an online offer on a heavy vehicle.
The catch is the tow. Getting a dead car from Aurora to a yard costs $100 to $200, which eats most of the difference. Yards also quote over the phone and re-quote on arrival once they see it.
Online buyers give you a firm number before anyone moves, include the tow, and come to the driveway. That’s why they suit most people, and there’s nothing stopping you calling a nearby yard for a comparison number first.
If the car is worth more in pieces than whole, selling it for parts is a third option. It pays better and takes far longer.
Storing a Junk Car While You Sort the Paperwork
If you’re waiting six weeks on a title, the car has to sit somewhere. Keep it on private property, on a driveway or behind a fence rather than on the street.
Many Colorado cities and HOAs have rules about inoperable vehicles left in view, and those can turn into notices and fines. A cover solves most of it.
Keep liability insurance on it until it’s gone, and disconnect the battery if it’ll be more than a few weeks. Our guide on how to store a junk car has the rest.
Colorado Motor Vehicle Resources
- Colorado DMV: Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
- Buying and selling guidance: Colorado DMV, Buying and Selling
- Online services: myDMV
- Report a sale: File online
Colorado Junk Car FAQ
How long does it take to sell a junk car in Colorado?
One to three days if you have the title. The quote takes about two minutes and pickup is usually scheduled for the next business day or two.
Without the title it’s a different timeline. Add 2 to 6 weeks for the replacement to arrive.
Do I need a title to sell my junk car in Colorado?
Title required to sell: yes
What the seller files instead: none; the buyer files for a bonded title, or for a vehicle 25 years or older follows the In Lieu of Bond checklist DR 2462
If yours is missing, order a replacement, or ask buyers whether they’ll take the car as parts only on a bill of sale.
Learn more: How to Sell a Junk Car
How much does a replacement title cost in Colorado?
You’ll need Form DR 2539A. You can submit it at your county motor vehicle office, or online at mydmv.colorado.gov.
The fee and the wait are both in the replacement title section above. Applying early is the only thing that helps.
Does the title have to be notarized in Colorado?
Notarization required: not required
Does my junk car need an emissions test or safety inspection in Colorado?
Safety inspection: not required
Emissions test: yes, in the Denver metro and North Front Range program area
Where that leaves a scrap sale is covered in the emissions section above.
What paperwork do I file with the state after selling in Colorado?
Release of liability form: None required (online filing only)
Skipping it carries no specific penalty, but the seller may remain liable for tickets, tolls, or violations tied to the vehicle until the sale is reported. That’s the reason to spend the two minutes on it.
Do I remove my license plates before pickup in Colorado?
Yes. Plates stay with the seller, so take them off before the truck arrives.
Taking them off isn’t the same as reporting the sale: no, removing the plates alone does not release liability; file the release of liability online through myDMV.
Can I sell a junk car with a loan on it in Colorado?
Not until the loan is settled and the lender releases the title. A junk buyer can’t take a car with an open lien on it.
Call the lender for the payoff figure and ask how long the release takes after you pay.
Can I sell a junk car with expired registration in Colorado?
Yes. Registration is about driving the car, and nobody’s driving this one.
You don’t need to renew it first, and you don’t need to pay off old renewal fees to sell.
What if I lost the keys to my junk car?
It doesn’t change anything. The flatbed winches the car on without starting it.
Mention it on the quote form so the driver brings the right gear, and don’t pay a locksmith to cut a key you’re about to scrap.
What happens to my junk car after I sell it?
It goes to a yard, where the fluids get drained and any resellable parts get pulled. The shell is crushed and sold as scrap steel.
Once you’ve reported the sale and taken your plates, it’s no longer connected to you.
Article Update History
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"$8.20" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Replacement Title Processing Time
"2 to 6 weeks" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles over 16,000 lbs GVWR exempt" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"required when the title has no space for the sale price" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form DR 2539A" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Separate Odometer Disclosure Form
"no separate state form; odometer disclosure is recorded on the title or on the DR 2173 Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"none; the buyer files for a bonded title, or for a vehicle 25 years or older follows the In Lieu of Bond checklist DR 2462" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Form DR 2712 (DMV Small Estate Affidavit), or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the estate is probated" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"An emissions test is required when a vehicle changes ownership within the program area. Gas-powered vehicles seven model years old or newer are exempt." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Where to Get Emissions Testing
"Air Care Colorado emissions stations in the Denver metro and North Front Range program area" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
How to File Release of Liability
"File online through myDMV under Vehicle Services, Report Release of Liability." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Sell Without Title: Legal Authority
"Colorado Revised Statutes 42-6-110 (24-month rule for non-roadworthy vehicles) and 42-6-115 (in lieu of bond for vehicles 25 years or older)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Title Replacement Available Online?
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Electronic Title Handling Note
"Colorado offers eTitle, a secure electronic representation of the title through myColorado; it does not replace the paper title. Lienholders hold titles electronically through the ELT system and must release the lien before you can sell." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Estate Value Threshold
"$88,000 for deaths in 2026, $86,000 for 2025, or $82,000 for 2024, adjusted each year for inflation under C.R.S. 15-12-1201, with at least 10 days elapsed since the death" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Generic (no state form)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"No separate gift transfer form. The transfer is recorded as a gift with no consideration at the county motor vehicle office" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
